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J5C662n 


COHEN 

NATIONAL  LOYALTY: 
A  JEWISH  CHARACTERIS- 
TIC 


r 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


NATIONAL   LOYALTY; 


A  JEWISH  CHARACTERISTIC. 


BY   THE 


REV.    HENRY   COHEN 

GALVESTON,  TEXAS. 


of  Philip  Coiuen,  498-600  (Efjirb  Jloenue. 
1893. 


Bafimml  loyally  :  &  foitrisl; 


It  is  said  the  Jew  is  of  no  country,  and  of  all 
countries.  It  is  true  that  Jews  have  no  country  in 
the  usual  acceptation  of  the  phrase.  It  is,  therefore, 
all  the  more  worthy  of  remark,  if,  with  a  peculiar 
faith  distinguishing  them  from  the  rest  of  mankind, 
love  of  country  is  found  to  be  one  of  the  strongest 
characteristics  of  the  Jewish  race.  Such  is  the  attes- 
tation of  all  history  and  experience.  This  virtue  is 
well  worth  recording  in  connection  with  anything 
that  touches  upon  the  history  of  our  people  in  the 
past  or  present. 

With  us,  loyalty  to  the  Government  is  inherent. 
We  have  always  been  advocates  of  law  and  order,  and 
have  invariably  been  deferential  to  the  national  policy, 
notwithstanding  that  in  some  countries  our  civil  dis- 
abilities have  made  our  lot  hard  to  bear.  "Without 
law  there  can  be  no  civilization,"  is  a  Talmudic 
phrase,  and  the  sages  of  the  Mishna  judiciously 
taught,  "Pray  for  the  welfare  of  the  Government." 

In  France,  the  Jew  is  an  ardent  republican,  as  in 
England  he  is  for  constitutional  monarchy.  In  this 
country  he  is  "more  loyal  than  the  king;"  sink  or 
swim,  he  is  with  the  Republic.  In  the  late  war  he 
was  a  Federal  or  a  Confederate  according  to  his  polif 
ical  conviction.  What  is  true  of  his  patriotism  in 
Europe  and  the  colonies,  is  also  true  in  America,  with 
this  pleasing  addition.  The  natural  brnt  of  the  Jew- 
ish mind  is  towards  freedom  and  liberty;  therefore,  a 
republic  appeals  to  the  Israelite's  sense  of  loyalty  and 
justice  in  a  far  greater  degree  than  a  monarchy, 
limited  or  autocratic.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
Israelites  are  American  in  sentiment  immediately 
upon  their  arrival  in  the  new  world.  They  require  no 
long  drilling  to  understand  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  because 


209665'J 


the  natural  aspiration  arising  from  their  normal  con- 
dition and  subsequent  history,  is  for  that  freedom  of 
religious  worship  and  opinion  that  can  only  exist 
under  free  government.  Whether  by  the  noble  strain 
of  its  ancient  origin  and  lessons  in  adversity  so  long 
continued  as  to  take  away  the  sting  of  resentment 
and  revenge,  it  may  not  have  received  special  fitness 
for  the  preservation  of  free  institutions  in  those  coun- 
tries where  such  principles  have  once  obtained  a  foot- 
hold, and  for  their  conservation  against  excesses  ever 
freighted  with  reaction,  as  well  as  remarkable  capacity 
for  development  under  their  benign  influence,  so 
abundantly  testified  to  in  this  country,  may  well  de- 
serve the  profound  attention  of  the  future  historian  of 
American  civilization.  With  this  predisposition  the 
recent  Jewish  emigrant  is  much  more  entitled  to  be 
called  "American"  than  the  native  who  is  at  variance 
with  the  primary  doctrines  of  our  government. 

The  Jewish  character  embraces  specific  elements  by 
which  the  process  of  assimilation  is  easily  accom- 
plished. The  Israelite  has  been  taught  in  the  merci- 
less school  of  experience  how  best  to  adapt  himself  to 
existing  circumstances  and  conditions.  For  all 
that,  it  is  difficult  to  bind  him  to  anything  that  is  op- 
posed to  liberty  of  conscience.  He  understands  that 
Jeremiah  impressed  the  people  with  the  necessity  of 
seeking  "the  welfare  of  the  city"  .  .  .  "for  in 
the  peace  thereof  shall  ye  have  peace.''  He  appre- 
ciates the  Talmudic  dictum,  "The  law  of  the  country 
is  binding,"  but  he  will  not  blindly  submit  to  injus- 
tice or  discrimination.  He  will  show  his  disapproval  of 
all  oppressive  statutes  and  will  incline  towards  inde- 
pendence of  thought  and  deed,  for  that  is  the  natural 
preference  of  his  race.  If  his  liberty  is  threatened  it 
is  quite  possible  that  he  will  enter  his  name  upon  a 
list  of  revolutionists;  give  him  his  rights  and  he  is  an 
exemplary  citizen.  He  loves  freedom  first  and  then 


5 

the  law;  in  countries  where  the  law  bespeaks  freedom, 
he  is  in  his  element.     Under  all   circumstances,  how- 
ever, he  will  stand  ready  to  defend  the  cause  of  the 
state,  with  the  best  of  its  patriots.     Among  other  in- 
stances recorded  in  history,  we  read  of  two  of  our  co- 
religionists, both  living  at  the   present   day,  who,   in 
riotous   times,   voluntarily   headed   a  detachment  of 
police,  preserving  the  peace  for  the  benefit  of  all   con- 
cerned. 

The  partiality  of  Israelites  for  the  government  of 
the  United  States  is  produced  by  fixed  causes,  apart 
from  the  liberty-loving  principle  before  mentioned. 
In  this  country  there  is  not  the  slightest  outward 
difference  between  the  Jew  and  any  other  citizen.  He 
attends  the  same  schools,  studies  the  same  subjects,  is 
accorded  the  same  rights  and  privileges,  and,  hence, 
imbibes  the  same  patriotic  ideas  as  his  fellow-coun- 
tryman. In  religion  alone  does  he  'differ  from  his 
compatriot;  but  because  his  religion  lays  special 
stress  upon  love  of  country  and  loyalty,  the  Jew  is 
rather  more  of  an  American  than  his  neighbor.  It 
is  worthy  of  mention  that  when  once  the  tenets  in- 
fluencing the  laws  of  this  country  are  understood  the 
foreign-born  seeks  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  allegiance 
to  any  other  country.  It  can  be  safely  said  that  the 
thousands  of  emigrants  who  have  made  themselves 
more  or  less  acquainted  with  our  Constitution,  have, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  bignified  their  desire  to  be- 
come citizens  of  America.  With  remarkable  intelli- 
gence they  grasped  the  legislative  measures  of  our 
commonwealth,  and  learned  that  while  they  were  be- 
ing ruled  they  were  also  ruling.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  freedom  here  and  the  oppression  abroad,  is 
enough  in  itself  to  guarantee  an  undying  affection  for 
this  laud;  and  when  we  couple  this  condition  with 
the  Israelite's  inborn  craving  for  independence,  his 
fealty  to  America  reaches  its  climax.  The  Jewish 


native  inherits  his  loyalty  legitimately  and  naturally. 
By  a  progressive  development  in  nature,  humanity 
reaches  a  state  of  perfection  from  an  imperfect  organ- 
ism. In  like  manner,  the  germ  of  patriotism  planted 
in  the  breasts  of  our  fathers  and  forefathers,  culti" 
vatedand  nurtured  through  the  summer's  orb  of  pros- 
perity and  the  wintry  blasts  of  adversity  has  produced 
good  fruit  in  our  lives,  and  will,  under  the  mild  rays 
of  America's  sun,  become  a  perennial  growth. 

And  not  by  arm-chair  theorizing  do  we  make  good 
our  claim.  We  have  always  been  taught  that  mili- 
tary service  is  not  optional  but  obligatory.  This 
doctrine  found  expression  during  Jthe  American  War 
of  Independence,  and  in  subsequent  engagments — 
numbers  of  Israelites  taking  part  in  these  internation- 
al and  civic  conflicts.  To  particularize,  we  find  that 
in  1776  Mordecai  Sheftall,  after  honorable  field  rou- 
tine, was  made  Commissary-General  of  the  Georgia 
Brigade,  that  Jacob  L.  Cohen,  and  Col.  Solomon 
Bush,  of  Charleston,  organized  a  corps  of  Jewish  vol- 
unteers, and  that  in  1815  Judah  Touro  was  severely 
wounded  at  the  defense  of  New  Orleans;  and  in  the 
Navy,  Uriah  P.  Levy,  for  services  rendered,  was 
created  Commodore  in  1837  and  Post  Captain  in  1844. 
One  cannot,  however,  begin  to  enumerate  the  deeds 
a-ccomplished  by  Israelites  for  their  country's  cause. 
Every  decade  since  1776  has  seen  the  Jewish  name 
coupled  with  patriotic  action.  The  country  at  large 
has  often  taken  cognizance  of  this.  Senatorial,  COK- 
gressional  and  other  offices  have  been  held  by  our 
co-religionists.  Hyams,  Yulee,  Judah  P.  Benjamin, 
and  Jonas,  are  well  known  personalities.  There  have 
been  a  number  of  Israelites  in  the  consular  service; 
Major  Mordecai  M.  Noah,  B.  F.  Peixotto,  Simon 
Wolf,  Oscar  Straus  and  Solomon  Hirsch,  have  all 
been  honored  by  their  home  government,  and  by  the 
countries  in  which  they  represented  the  United  States. 


It  were  well  to  impress  upon  our  Christian  fellow- 
citizens  that  there  is  no  analogy  between  the  termc 
ujew"  and  "American."  We  hear  ourselves  called 
"Jews"  in  contradistinction  to  "Americans/'  Jew  is 
analogous  to  Christian,  Mahometan  or  Brahmin,  but 
not  to  American,  Englishman  or  German.  Themis- 
use  of  the  term  under  remark,  has  caused  us  to  be 
looked  upon  as  aliens,  whereas  we  are  without  doubt, 
''plus  royaliste  que  le  roi."  Israelites  are  divided  in 
their  political  opinions  as  Christians  are,  each  man 
casting-  the  ballot  for  his  party  whether  it  is  repre- 
sented by  a  co-religionist  or  by  a  votary  of  another 
sect.  Because  of  their  loyality,  the  Jews  in  the  old 
city  of  Antioch  received  full  rights  of  citizenship. 
For  four  centuries  Rome  gave  them  civil  and  military 
employment.  In  China  they  held  the  most  important 
offices  of  the  state.  At  different  times  the  highest 
political  positions  in  Italy,  Spain  and  Portugal,  were 
held  by  Israelites.  In  1645,  in  Brazil  the  States-Gen- 
eral passed  an  ordinance  by  which  "the  persons,  goods 
and  rights  of  the  Jew  were  taken  under  the  special 
protection  of  the  government  because  of  the  fidelity 
and  courage  which  that  people  had  on  every  occasion 
displayed  towards  the  authorities.'1  In  the  United 
States,  mention  of  Jewish  loyalty  was  made  by  no 
less  a  personage  than  Washington  in  his  famous  let- 
ters to  our  co-religionists  of  Philadelphia,  Savannah 
and  Charleston,  and  Henry  Clay  employed 
Joseph  B.  Nones  as  his  private  secretary.  In  their 
aspirations  for  liberty,  Jews  have  not  hesitated  to  im- 
peril their  fortunes  in  what,  judged  by  all  human  evi- 
dence, seemed  hazardous  causes.  In  Europe  it  was  a 
Jew  who  offered  William  of  Orange  two  millions  of 
guilders  upon  the  slenderest  chances  of  the  return  of 
the  same,  when  his  government  was  in  straightened 
circumstances.  On  this  side  of  the  ocean,  Haym 
Solomon  financially  supported  the  American  party  in 


revolutionary  days;  Mordecai  M.  Noah  almost  beg- 
gared himself  for  this  country,  and  Judah  Touro  don- 
ated $10,000  towards  the  completion  of  the  Bunker 
Hill  monument;  to  say  nothing  of  the  zeal  with  which 
our  people  participate  in  patriotic  celebrations  and 
the  large  sums  of  money  they  so  freely  give  for  their 
observance. 

Prayers  offered  by  Jewish  congregations  to  the 
throne  of  God  for  the  recovery  of  the  sick,  among  our 
most  useful  men,  is  a  common  occurrence.  No  syna- 
gogue service  is  complete  without  a  prayer  for  the 
government  and  its  officials,  just  as  sacrifices  were 
offered  twice  daily  in  Jerusalem  for  Csesar  and  for  the 
Roman  people. 

In  brief,  the  Israelite  in  all  countries  differs  from 
his  compatriots  proportionately  to  his  ill-treatment. 
He  thinks  and  feels  like  them  in  the  same  ratio  as  he 
is  well  used.  He  asks  only  for  the  same  justice  that 
is  meted  out  to  other  sects  and  the  right  of  citizenship 
without  beiug  forced  to  violate  his  conscience.  It  is 
a  bad  plan  to  label  him  alien  and  then  upbraid  him 
with  his  indifference  to  national  policy.  In  America 
we  are  Americans  with  the  best  in  the  land,  affected 
by  everything  that  affects  our  fellow-citizens.  We 
exhibit  the  same  national  characteristics;  above  all, 
we  are  patriotic.  I  close  as  I  began,  by  directing  at- 
tention-to  the  suggestiveness  of  the  inquiry  whether 
the  future  Guizot  or  Buckle  of  America  may  not  re- 
trospectively discover  that  the  Jews  have  fulfilled  a 
high  mission  in  this  liberty-loving  land  of  ours;  a 
mission  impressed  upon  them  by  heredity,  and  fos- 
tered by  adversity, that  conjoins  with  lofty  aspirations 
for  independence  and  a  capacity  to  do  and  to  suffer  in 
its  cause,  a  conservation  sfnd  love  of  law  and  order 
that  by  forbidding  the  excesses  of  socialism  and  anar- 
chy effectually  prevents  precipitation  by  reaction  into 
the  direful  disasters  of  despotic  government. 


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